The Resource Management Act. Photo: Bill McKay
Auckland Council says it welcomes harsher penalties for developers and companies that breach the Resource Management Act (RMA).
The government has increased the maximum penalty for breaking the RMA to $1 million for individuals and $10m for companies - a significant increase from the previous $300,000 and $600,000 limits.
Auckland Council compliance manager Adrian Wilson said it had been a long time coming.
"The council has been calling for tougher enforcement fines, which were last reviewed in 1999, for years," he said in a statement.
"The substantial increases send the message that environmental rules matter, and there are real consequences for those who ignore them."
Wilson said the previously low fines had forced councils to spend ratepayer money on investigating RMA breaches, but now the investigations could pay for themselves.
"By shifting compliance costs directly to those whose activities generate environmental risks, the system promotes fairness, discourages non-compliance, and reinforces the 'polluter pays' principle," he said.
"We see individuals and companies who will knowingly breach the RMA, sometimes repeatedly, demonstrating a total disregard for environmental rules and regulations. We hope the new, more appropriate penalties will put a stop to that behaviour."
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